The term barcode sled reader is an industry term for a type of barcode reader which forms a case around a smart phone or similar portable computing device and includes a functional barcode reader engine (e.g. light source photo sensor, optics and a processor for decoding barcodes). When the smart phone is encased by the barcode sled reader the smart phone's power/data connector is mated to a corresponding connector of the sled reader.
In operation, decoded barcode data is provided by the sled reader to the smart phone and received by an application running on the smart phone. The application uses the barcode data within its work flow which typically includes formatting the barcode data, combining it with other information, which may include generating an XML file inclusive of the barcode data, and sending the XML file to a remote server using the smart phone's WI-FI connection, cellular data connection, or other communication connection.
Many hospitals and other organizations maintain legacy client/server systems for managing their operations. A client application operates on several computers and includes work flows used by personnel to perform various tasks. The users may input data into fields of the client application workflow using the computer's keyboard. A barcode reader may also be coupled to the computer via a point to point connection such as USB or Bluetooth and may also be used to enter data read from a barcode into fields of the application client workflow. Data input to the client application by the user, whether by keyboard or barcode, may be transferred to the legacy server over a network in a traditional manner.